President Kennedy's vision of a New Frontier represented a country hungry for economic expansion and social development. However, global events quickly shifted his focus to the international stage.
Kennedy's administration got off to a rocky start in April of 1961 with the Bay of Pigs invasion. During Eisenhower's second term in the White House, Fidel Castro had come to power in Cuba and proved to be a brutal and totalitarian leader. When Castro came to power, he quickly aligned himself with Soviet Communists, much to the despair of American leaders who hoped to maintain Cuba as an ally.
Eisenhower approved a plan that called for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to train approximately 1,500 anti-Castro Cuban exiles for a Cuban invasion and takeover. Eisenhower's term ended before the training was complete, so Kennedy inherited responsibility for the program. His advisors assured him that the CIA-trained rebels would be victorious, so on April 17, 1961, the militia invaded the south coast of Cuba at the Bahía de Cochinos, or the Bay of Pigs.
The militia hoped to incite an insurrection with the local population; however, the outcome proved that the CIA was drastically wrong in their assessment that the 1,500 warriors would triumph. Castro's Army and supporters quickly repelled the invasion, leaving all but a few hundred of the invading militia either captured or killed.
Just three months into his presidency, Kennedy suffered the humiliation of financing and backing the disastrous scheme. Americans questioned Kennedy's leadership, both for his refusal to provide air support for the invading force and for allowing the invasion to take place at all. He did make some progress in Latin America with his Alliance for Progress, a program created in 1961 and designed to provide financial assistance and social welfare to Cuba and its neighbors. However, this program too would eventually fail when Latin American countries refused to adopt the reforms necessary to significantly reduce poverty.
That same year, Kennedy played a role in another major event of the decade and the Cold War—the Soviet construction of the Berlin Wall, which divided the German city into East and West Berlin. Soviet Premier Khrushchev, an experienced politician, refused to take the inexperienced Kennedy seriously as a world leader. Believing he had to take a forceful stance against Khrushchev's threats to limit U.S. access to Berlin, Kennedy called up the Army Reserves and National Guard to prepare to protect Berlin.
Khrushchev's response was a strong one; he constructed the Berlin Wall to divide the east and west sides of the city, tearing apart families and preventing economic exchange. This move demonstrated the Soviet's might and willingness to go toe-to-toe with the United States. To Kennedy's credit, he did not back down. He visited Berlin in 1962 and paid tribute to the spirit of Berliners and to their quest for freedom when he declared to the crowds "I am a Berliner." He also offered this commentary on the Soviet regime: "For those who say communism is a better system, let them come to Berlin." His popularity soared.
Naturally, Kennedy's refusal to back down infuriated Khrushchev, as did the U.S. missiles in Turkey that were aimed at the Soviet Union. With the understanding that Cuba was a sore spot for Kennedy after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, Khrushchev began to place missiles there and aim them at the coast of Florida. The plan also provided for protection of Cuba—an important Soviet economic partner—from another American invasion.
Kennedy was not only worried about the Russian missiles just 90 miles from the coast of Florida, but also the psychological effects they had on Americans. It was apparent that the United States government had to take action. After reviewing several options, the National Security Council decided to go with a plan they labeled "quarantine," a euphemism for a naval blockade. On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy opted to provide disclosure to American citizens of the Cuban missile sites and the U.S. government's blockade in response.
Not surprisingly, this was one of most tense episodes in American history and, by most accounts, as close as the U.S. and Soviets ever came to nuclear confrontation. Khrushchev threatened to push past the quarantine, but fortunately his threats proved idle. On Wednesday, October 24, 1962, Soviet ships came near but stopped short of the U.S. blockade. Two days later, a television reporter relayed a message from a representative of the Soviet Embassy offering to remove the Cuban missiles if the United States agreed to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey. Secretly, the Soviets also insisted on a U.S. promise to refrain from any future Cuban invasions. Kennedy accepted the proposal, and Khrushchev removed the missiles on Sunday, October 28, 1962.
After being on the brink of nuclear war, President Kennedy made huge strides in diplomatic relations with the Soviets. Kennedy and Khrushchev agreed to establish a "hot line" telephone with a direct connection between the two political centers. They also arranged to enter into dialogues about peacekeeping efforts and cooperation between the two nations.
The U.S. stand against communism also required Kennedy to make foreign policy decisions concerning the growing war in Vietnam. Kennedy wanted to limit involvement in the war, yet he was also concerned about the "domino effect," first stated by President Eisenhower, of nations falling under communist control as a result of the war. Kennedy looked to his popular and successful predecessor for guidance.
Eisenhower had an established policy of support for anticommunist forces in Southeast Asia, believing that this was the only way to stem the tide of the domino effect. Kennedy adopted the same policy in hopes of limiting the spread of communism. He also determined that the United States had limited power over the outcome of the war and would withdraw from South Vietnam by the end of 1965. Unfortunately, Kennedy was assassinated before he could see that promise through.